Our Schools Suck: Students Talk Back to a Segregated Nation on the Failures of Urban Education

Front Matter

Our Schools Suck Our Schools Suck Students Talk Back to a Segregated Nation on the Failures of Urban Education Gaston Alonso, Noel S. Anderson, Celina Su, and Jeanne Theoharis a N E W Y O R K U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S New York and London NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress.org© 2009 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Our schools suck : students talk back to a segregated nation on the failures of urban education / Gaston Alonso . . . [et al.]. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978–0–8147–8307–8 (cl : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–8147–8307–4 (cl : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978–0–8147–8308–5 (pb : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0–8147–8308–2 (pb : alk. paper) 1. Education, Urban—United States. 2. De facto school segregation— United States. 3. Minority teenagers—Education—United States. 4. Minority teenagers—United States—Attitudes. I. Alonso, Gaston. LC5131.O87 2009 370.9173’20973—dc22     2008051337 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. We strive to use environmentally responsible suppliers and materials to the greatest extent possible in publishing our books. Manufactured in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 3 2 1 p 10 9 8 7 6 6 5 4 3 2 1 ...